Student suspended for handstands, cartwheels

CNN ^ | Nov 11th, 2004

[mark502inf]

LOS ANGELES, California (Reuters) -- Cartwheels and handstands have gotten an 11-year-old girl temporarily bounced out of her Los Angeles-area school.

Deirdre Faegre was suspended for a week after repeatedly disobeying school officials who told her not to perform gymnastic stunts during lunchtime.

"Our first concern is the safety of all children," San Jose-Edison Academy Principal Denise Patton told the San Gabriel Valley Tribune.

Patton said Deirdre could accidentally strike another student, or injure herself, and other children could get hurt trying to imitate Deirdre, who has been doing gymnastics for five years.

[mlocher]

"Contact sports, apparently, are fine. But this one is so dangerous it requires the cartwheel cops," Faegre said.

LOL!!!...maybe kids should eat lunch and then go right to their straight jackets.(smile)

[TChris]

This is just the latest incarnation of the "everyone must be equal" insanity. A girl has abilities above those of her peers, therefore she must be brought back in line. This is pure socialist engineering with a very bad excuse stapled on top.

[Uncle Miltie]

Are they all wearing their protective rubber suits?

[mlocher]

Maybe folks around here will cry foul but she was apparently told to stop "repeatedly".

if a child continues to misbehave after repeatedly being told, then you get the parents involved. going from repeated "stop that" to a five day suspension is absurd.

[Blood of Tyrants]

It has nothing to do with "safety". It has everything to do with dominating the children and breaking their spirit.

[Hodar]

Now I don't know about you folks but my father would have taken me to the wood shed for doing something that I was told "repeatedly" not to do in school. But hey I just a hick from Texas. The father's argument misses the point completely.

You nailed it. The child was told not to do the cartwheels. One may dispute the wisdom of the teacher, but the teacher IS the person responsible. If someone would have gotten hurt; the teacher would be responsible. With actions, comes responsibilites.

My parents made it very clear to me that the trouble I got into at school would pale in comparison with the trouble waiting for me when I got home. This parent has just instructed his child that there is no authority, there are no consequences to your actions, and that 'even if you know you are doing wrong', it's OK. I wonder if he'll be asking "What did I do wrong" when his daughter presents him with grandchildren before she graduates?

[claudiustg]

And San Jose-Edison Academy Principal Denise Patton is this weeks winner of the Remarkably Anal-retentive and Shortsighted Award.

[RebelBanker]

OK, did anyone else read that she was suspended for repeatedly disobeying school officials? Without all the facts, I can not say whether or not the girl's gymnastics were inappropriate, but someone in authority at the school obviously thought they were. Therefore, she was told to stop. When she did not, she was punished.

Maybe it's just me, but I thought you were supposed to do gymnastics or whatever during phys ed and eat during lunch time.

[BlazingArizona]

PC crap like this will be the ruination of us all...

In this world there are morons, cretins, and school boards.

[TADSLOS]

Some kids are just built that way.

[Texas_Jarhead]

A few of us agree with you #12, 15, 26

[notpoliticallycorewrecked]

I would like to weight in on this issue:

Last year I taught a variety of subjects in the upper grades at a private Christian school. We had a few students at the school that were into the gymnastic stunts.

The problems weren't that they were doing handstands and cartwheels. The problem was that they were doing them indoors in the classrooms or in areas where there were crowds of students. On several occasions they hit another student with their feet or hands at a high rate of speed that is required to preform such stunts.

I had one student hit me in mouth with his foot while he was doing a cartwheel in PE. We were playing baseball at the time not doing gymnastics, so it was an inappropriate maneuver. I was next to the group of students that were waiting their turn at bat. I actually encouraged them to do their stunts during lunch hour, but out in the open field area without a large amount of students around. But they didn't want to do it out in the open areas, not they wanted to preform by the lockers or in the hallways to get the attention of everyone. This proved my point that they were preforming these stunts not for the sake of exercise, but to show off.

[Oztrich Boy]

other children could get hurt trying to imitate Deirdre, who has been doing gymnastics for five years.

"Would you jump off a cliff if Deirdre did?"

[DameAutour]

Kids are suspended far too easily nowadays. Don't they have other punishments?

[Straight Vermonter]

..and feed them drugs to calm them down.

[TLI]

"Deirdre Faegre was suspended for a week after repeatedly disobeying school officials who told her not to perform gymnastic stunts during lunchtime."

Did they tell her it was ok any other time? Did anyone state when the evil "stunts" could be performed? Or is this just a simple case of those that can't attempting to ban the enjoyable activities of those that can?

[Cobra64]

This mentality is pathetic. I went to boarding school in Litchfield, CT. We used to take sides on the hockey rink and throw stones at each other. Over the Summer, my brothers and I used to have BB gun fights.

My wife used to cut holes in the ice in MN with a chain-saw to go ice fishing when she was 12! I could go on, but I think I've made my point. Today we're living with a bunch of panty-waste-limp-wristed cowards. /rant

[Cobra64]

Maybe it's just me, but I thought you were supposed to do gymnastics or whatever during phys ed and eat during lunch time.

I surmise you live in the asphalt jungle. We hicks used to get into fist fights during lunch time, just for the hell of it. Developed character, dontcha know. So we'd go back to class with a bloody lip or bloody nose. Big friggin deal. If y'all don't like the scenario, rewinf about 260 years when this Republic was born.

Too many weasles breathing H2O anymore. Draft 'em into the Marine Corps.... /rant

[LibertyRocks]

I can't believe I'm reading this....

If this were the rule of conduct back in our Catholic Grammar School almost every single girl in our class of 75 would have been suspended... AND we were doing them on our CONCRETE PARKING LOT playground!

And all this in LA??? I think they've got more serious problems on their hands than a cartwheel-turner!

Yet another reason we choose to homeschool...

[Major_Risktaker]

Deirdre Faegre was suspended for a week after repeatedly disobeying school officials who told her not to perform gymnastic stunts during lunchtime.

This entire country is becoming a POLICE STATE!

This is the game we played
every morning and lunch time in
7th and 8th grade at St. Theresa Academy.

"BUCKBUCK"

The guys that lost would get a
penalty finger snap to the nuts or Bachi Balls.

Rules: Anything goes except a straight
elbow or a knee into the back.
Everyone broke the rules.

The Nuns never said anything!

We had an amazing amount of freedom as kids.

Today some kids are fat couch potato,
x-box, druged down, wimpy, uncreative robotrons.